Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Via Lion's Roar: Sayadaw U Pandita, influential Burmese meditation master, dead at 94

Sayadaw U Pandita

The modern Vipassana meditation teacher Sayadaw U Pandita has died, at the age of 94.

A highly influential Theravada teacher, U Pandita was, at the time of his death, the abbot of Paṇḍitārāma Meditation Center in Yangon, Myanmar, which he founded in 1991. He had himself been trained by the famed Mahasi Sayadaw, and took over the Mahasi Meditation Center after Mahasi’s death in 1982.

U Pandita’s influence in the West was strong with students and teachers alike, due in part to his time teaching at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts in 1984. (Read IMS teacher Sharon Salzberg’s account of training with U Pandita.) The talks he gave there were later collected in the book In This Very Life: Liberation Teachings of the Buddha. He also authored several other writings, including the book The State of Mind Called Beautiful.

Make the jump here to read the full article and more at  Lions Roar

also see:

How to Practice Vipassana Insight Meditation by

Via JustaBahai: Jake Sasseville’s dilemma

I have just read Jake's blog “Baha’i Curious? Religion & Sexuality” who wrote: “Aside from my parents, the Baha’i Faith has cultivated and shaped who I’ve become in my life, and it is the most consistent community to which I’ve belonged. That’s why it’s so heart-breaking that I’m considering leaving the Baha’i Faith.” “Many Baha’is […]

Via Sri Prem BabaFlor do dia / Flor del dia / Flower of the Day – 19/04/2016

“Somos levados a acreditar que sucesso significa realizar-se na matéria. Somos bem sucedidos quando produzimos uma bela obra de arte, desenvolvemos um sofisticado projeto, ocupamos um cargo importante ou quando ganhamos uma alta quantia de dinheiro. Eu não condeno esse tipo de conquista; isso faz parte da vida, mas o verdadeiro sucesso é quando tomamos consciência daquilo que nos aprisiona; quando tomamos consciência da nossa insanidade. Ao perceber a nossa insanidade, começamos a nos tornar sãos. Ao perceber o que está inconsciente, expandimos a consciência e podemos perceber o que está além da matéria - o espírito.”

“Somos llevados a creer queéxito significa realizarseen la materia. Somosexitosos cuando producimos una bella obra de arte, desarrollamos un proyecto sofisticado, ocupamos un cargo importante o cuando ganamos una alta cantidad de dinero. No condeno a este tipo de conquista; esto es parte de la vida, pero el verdadero éxito es cuando tomamos consciencia de aquello que nos aprisiona; cuando tomamos consciencia de nuestra locura. Al percibir nuestra locura, comenzamos a volvernossanos. Al percibir lo que está inconsciente, expandimos la conciencia y podemos percibir lo que está más allá de la materia - el espíritu.”

“We are led to believe that success means manifesting something in the material world. We think we are successful if we create a beautiful piece of art, develop a sophisticated project, have an important position, or if we earn a lot of money. I do not condemn this kind of achievement; it is part of life. However, true success is when we become conscious of what imprisons us and aware of our own insanity. When we are able to identify our insanity, we move towards sanity. As we develop our capacity perceive the unconscious, we begin to expand our consciousness so that we can perceive what lies beyond the material world: our spirit.”

Via Daily Dharma / April 19, 2016: The Happiest Mind

The Buddha discovered that the happiest mind is the nonattached one. This happiness is of a radically different order than what we’re used to.

—Cynthia Thatcher, "What’s So Great About Now?"